PDF Version - Glidewell Dental Labs
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PDF Version - Glidewell Dental Labs
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position, lights and his loupes, and then slowly reads the<br />
record again. Then he slowly looks in the patient’s mouth<br />
at the offending caries. He will take his time examining<br />
the tooth, slowly looking at it from several angles, then<br />
glancing at the record, then back at the tooth. He has seen<br />
it several times before, but just to be sure, he looks at it<br />
again — and again.<br />
Talking slowly, Dr. Slow then advises the patient that an<br />
anesthetic is needed and opens a drawer, slowly selects a<br />
syringe, studies a small stack of loose carpules and selects<br />
one. He then slowly takes it in his hands and inserts it into<br />
the syringe, checks the fit and slowly examines the tip of<br />
the needle as solution is slowly expressed. Then he slowly<br />
brings the syringe to the patient’s mouth, elevates the lip,<br />
slowly examines the injection site and then slowly inserts the<br />
needle into the mucosa, slowly injecting as he slowly drives<br />
the needle tip deeper into the tissues. Taking a minute or so,<br />
he then finishes the injection while he painstakingly moves<br />
the syringe from side to side. He then slowly withdraws the<br />
needle and syringe, taking his time to insert the safety cap<br />
back on the instrument. A 5- to 10-minute wait ensues for<br />
what is deemed “good anesthesia.” After asking the patient<br />
several times if he is numb, poking at the gingiva and any<br />
other tissue within range, Dr. Slow lifts his handpiece and<br />
slowly looks at the bur, then looks away and toward his bur<br />
block for an appropriate bur. He might look at several burs,<br />
slowly considering each one before he makes his selection,<br />
and then slowly pick up a chuck tool to loosen the old bur<br />
and slowly insert the new bur. This process can go on and<br />
on for what seems like forever! I’m sure you get the idea.<br />
Instead of taking five minutes, Dr. Slow takes 30 minutes to<br />
do a simple restoration. We are all more or less guilty of this<br />
type of patient abuse.<br />
Why do we do this? Why is practicing dentistry so slow and<br />
methodical? Why must it take so much time when it really<br />
is not necessary? The reason is simple: We were taught to<br />
be slow in dental school. How many times were we told by<br />
instructors, “Take your time and do it right” or “You’re doing<br />
this too fast”?<br />
ADVANTAGES OF SPEED DENTISTRY<br />
The faster you do something, the quicker you will finish.<br />
If you are torturing (treating) a patient, the faster you do<br />
it, the less discomfort the patient will feel over the length<br />
of the visit. If you are being paid for a treatment and you<br />
do it quickly, then you will be making more money, faster.<br />
If you treat 10 patients an hour rather than 10 patients<br />
in four hours, you will be going home earlier and richer.<br />
The patients will be better served because they will not<br />
have to wait for treatment, and they will spend less time<br />
in the chair and experience less stress. Physiologically,<br />
as adrenalin secretion or stress suppresses the immune<br />
system, less patient stress means less adrenalin secretion<br />
and faster healing.<br />
Another advantage is that you pay less for your staff because<br />
they work fewer hours. However, if you choose to spend<br />
the same amount of time in the office as you did doing<br />
slow dentistry (same basic overhead), you will be able to<br />
treat more people and thus increase your income, try new<br />
techniques you previously didn’t have time for, study or<br />
give more to charity. Speed dentistry has its financial as well<br />
as professional advantages.<br />
Many people object to the concept of speed dentistry<br />
because they believe slow is better than fast, equating<br />
reduced speed to precision. This began in 1900 America<br />
with a great surgeon, Dr. William Halsted, who, after<br />
having a stroke, perfected his technique of general surgery<br />
by methodically going slow. Compared to the slip-shod,<br />
microbe-contaminated surgical techniques of the Victorian<br />
era, the new Halsted technique — along with dependable<br />
anesthesia — produced fabulous results. Unfortunately, it<br />
had an effect on dentistry. In most of our dental school<br />
experiences, instructors believed that procedures done<br />
When dental students are first shown a procedure, it is<br />
usually demonstrated slowly to ensure comprehension. It is<br />
then practiced slowly. Rarely, if ever, are we told or taught<br />
to speed up the process. Unfortunately, this dental school<br />
experience transfers over into real life and our dental<br />
practices. Certainly, when we have a crowded schedule<br />
or have to leave the office early, we speed up and push a<br />
bit, but this is an occasional effort, not a continuous one.<br />
We need to be consistently faster because it is good for<br />
our patients, ourselves, our staff and our profession. With<br />
the right training, equipment and mindset, we can all be<br />
practicing speed dentistry.<br />
56 www.chairsidemagazine.com